You have heard the networking term SIP, but what is it? SIP stands for Session Initiation Protocol, in which a phone company delivers telephony services over a wire called a “trunk”. This trunk connects a business’ PBX (private branch exchange) to a PSTN (public switched telephone network). The actual trunk hardware carries the phone calls from the business site to the PSTN, giving the business their phone service. The advantage of using a SIP trunk is that it replaces physical cables with telephone service over a data network. This data network can consist of a dedicated line, a shared connection with a data service or even by using the Internet for connectivity.
While SIP trunking services have been around since 2005, getting businesses to accept this form of technology have been difficult. The main reason being, most network managers don’t fully understand what a SIP trunk is or how it works. Another reason is businesses are only now understanding the need for this technology for their businesses. For companies looking to use VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology, they should also consider SIP trunks.